Saturday, October 07, 2006

The Devil Is Six

This one feels particularly sweet.

Because of Johnny Damon, and the way he was compared, inexplicably, to Ruth, Clemens, and Boggs. Another Red Sox loser who went to New York to win. Ha! He won with us, remember? He won with us, he went to them to LOSE.

Because of the way Yankee fans completely forgot which team is currently cursed--ha! again--and rubbed it (what?) in our faces this year, as if they somehow knew they'd go right back to winning World Series'.

Because of A-Rod. Did he really just completely choke in the playoffs again? Yes, he did. If he were any other person, in any other line of work, I'd feel horrible for him. But he sold his soul (welcome to his world, Johnny!), and the world is watching as the devil of baseball laughs in his face.

Because of Derek Jeter. Every year he's thought of as the guy who you want on your team, because he's a "winner." It's been awhile, though, for Derek. And guess what? He can have the MVP! It's not a ring.

And, of course, because of Big Stein himself. Keep spending, George. Might want to think about putting some of that dough into pitchers, though. I don't know, though. I'm just some guy. I mean, I could be way off on that. Just my advice. You don't have to take it. You're the businessman. (My dad pointed out that they've spent over a billion dollars since they last won.)

You know, I got a little worried when the playoffs started. I knew the Yanks had major flaws. But all the other teams looked beatable. So, great job by the Tigers, for doing what they showed they could do earlier in the season. Now I get to sleep peacefully for six months.

And great job by the Tigers for coming out on the field and celebrating with the fans. I liked wheh that random dude wanted a kiss from Leyland through the screen, and Leyland kissed his hat. Also, Kid Rock was in my dream last night. So it was fitting that Bonderman, who I've siad before reminds me, facially, of Kid Rock, got the huge win, and that Kid Rock was mentioned several times during the telecast. God, I hate Kid Rock. So scary. But I liked watching Kid Bonderman today.

Next year at this time, we'll be watching the Red Sox celebrate like that.

Edit: Here's a bonus video. I should also note the terrible job by the gutless media, as they all picked the Yanks to win this series easily!

Edit: I grabbed the Sterling audio and threw it on the same video. I like how he also noticed "the kiss":

Yes, saw the edit; great stuff. How great will it be if the Mets clinch tonight?

I'm wearing the Tigers cap that I bought back in '99 at old Tiger Stadium from when my friend and I took a road trip to see the Sox' final series at that park. I think I need to take a walk around the neighborhood...

(Thanks, Jere, for deleting my last comment wherein I said something so dumb.)Anyway, the irony that E-Rod made the final error of the last Yankee game is overwhelming.Dad is still insisting that George has spent a billion dollars. That would be 1000 million.Anyway,the full moon rising from Boston and up and out of Long Island Sound tonight mid-game was beautiful.(I love signs.)The Red Sox season is officially over. Good night fellow fans.

Well Jere, the way the Tigers dispatched the "Greatest line-up assembled in recent memory" and the peculiar ownership that Kenny Rogers has on the A's, it could be 4 and done, a nail biter or a great series. I'm (at this point) just happy they got out of the first round. I like that Jason Starck picked the Yankees to crush all opposition - another screw headed pig on the wrong side of history. Keep it rolling.

While I love that this happened, it gives the Yankees a black eye and they'll be players in the offseason market. Be careful what you wish for here. I bet George gets Daisuke Matsuzaka, Aramis Ramirez, and Zito. He can afford all three, then eat some salary and trade A-Rod for something.

NY Daily News reporting that Senile Steinbrenner is seething over this one, and is expected to fire Torre and trade Slappy. Total Meltdown in ChokeeLand; it's the Bronx Zoo all over again!

And I'm shocked that those two little gutless cowards, Bloodyank'78 and DaYankeesChoke, haven't shown their faces in here....you two dipshits root for the Biggest Chokers in Sports....The New York Chokees!!!

- This is Mattingly's fault. They went on their dynastic spree the year after he retired, and they've been completely embarassed every year since he got back.

- Interesting how Jeter has "presided" over one of the teams dynasties, and a period of choke-jobs unprecedented in the history of the franchise. This franchise has never performed this consistently poorly in the postseason, EVER.

- I can't blame any media person or otherwise for picking NYY across the board.

- Torre doesn't get enough blame for this A-Rod BS. Batting him 8th? That was total horseshit. It basically told him, "I'd hit you 2nd or 5th or something, but this is elimination time, and I'm sort of 100% certain that you're not going to bounce back, so I'll try and hide you." This is a guy with confidence issues, right? I mean, it's funny to us, but if it's in your interest to get a genuinely brilliant player to play well- this is a good idea?

And of course it blew up and he had to answer questions about it and stew on it, etc. Jeter's getting criticized for not standing up for him- which is true. But the same's true of Torre. I mean, giving quotes to that SI article, too- he dropped the ball in what was supposedly his specialty as NY manager- handling the media, etc.

- I got the A's in 7- this is going to be a GREAT series, I think.

- While it is tremendously funny to watch, consider how easy it is to lose three games at any point in the season before you win two. I still think the Yankees were the best team in baseball this year, but, thankfully, they choked, so they go home.

My point being, if they overreact based on their team going cold against a great pitching staff for three days, and bring in "gritty" types that are more Brosius than ARod- I think this is a good thing for us.

- jellyfish is right too, of course. If they get lucky/ smart on a few deals this offseason, they cold come back even better than they were this year. So let's hope there's some more mismanagement.

I must admit, I engaged in far, far more than my fair share of Dunbar Demise Shadenfreude in this comment thread...it was kinda like an especially tasty chocolate cake for dessert...I just couldn't resist having that extra slice. Apologies, and thank you for indulging me, Jere.

savethejellyfish and BSM make really good points. For one thing, this series exposed the Yanks' pitching weakness to such a significant degree that I have to assume they'll spend a ton of time and money addressing it this winter. For another thing, as happy as I was to watch the Yanks embarrass themselves again, the harsh reality is that they're still in better shape for next season than the Sox are. Theo's got a ton of work ahead of him. My only hope is that Georgie Porgie and the Tampa Mafia just go 80's style crazy with the dumb moves, starting with dumping Torre for Piniella, and trading ARod for well less than he's worth. Torre made a ton of bad moves in the Tiger series (Sheffield at first?!? Dropping ARod to 8th and destroying his confidence?!?), but I really think Piniella returning to the Bronx would be a complete disaster.

Maybe it's because George is almost eighty (right?), but with the sudden and inexplicable availability of Joe Girardi, one would think an infusion of whatever he brought to Florida and their $15 million payroll would do a world of good for NY. Happily, George is certifiable and Girardi may just turn the Cubs into something respectable instead. Pinella is a cluster bomb.